title: Incidence of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea in premenopausal patients with breast cancer following adjuvant anthracycline and taxane.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of amenorrhea among breast cancer patients aged 40 years and younger following adjuvant chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A follow-up questionnaire survey was conducted with premenopausal women with breast cancer who were treated with adjuvant anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 66 women were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-nine patients were treated with a regimen containing anthracycline followed by taxane and 17 patients with anthracycline alone. Fifty-eight patients (87.9%) experienced amenorrhea during chemotherapy; 14 patients (21.2%) had persistent amenorrhea after chemotherapy. The incidence of amenorrhea during chemotherapy and persistent amenorrhea was higher in patients older than 36 than in younger patients (97.9 vs. 63.2%, 27.7 vs. 5.3%). Additional taxane resulted in a higher incidence of amenorrhea compared with anthracycline-containing regimen alone (93.9 vs. 70.6%). Multivariate analysis showed that age (≥36 years) was independently associated with the incidences of amenorrhea during chemotherapy (p = 0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Age was the strongest predictor of the incidence of amenorrhea during chemotherapy. It is unclear whether additional taxane may contribute to amenorrhea. This information could be useful in deciding whether to use adjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, 3-10-6 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan. yokanami@yahoo.co.jp
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okanami
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Chie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iijima
authors.forename: Takuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.forename: Nahomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tokudome
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Kiyohiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatake
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000568:Amenorrhea / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018943:Anthracyclines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001952:Bridged-Ring Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D018943:Anthracyclines; D001952:Bridged-Ring Compounds; D043823:Taxoids; C080625:taxane